The Yukon Wood Products Association represents 21 wood cutters, saw-millers and forest consulting businesses in the Yukon. The full page advertorial published in the Yukon News on Wednesday, November 6 on page 15 is not the experience of the majority of our members.
The association wants to publicly state that in our dealings with staff at forest management branch (FMB) they have always conducted themselves in a professional and ethical manner. The people at FMB have gone out of their way to assist the forest industry (members and non-members alike) in developing business opportunities throughout the Yukon. One of the key ways they do this is to provide access to the timber we need to succeed in the forest industry. To date, members have received licences and cutting permits in a timely and efficient manner.
The forest industry in the Yukon is for the first time in our history experiencing a shift from an exploitive regime to a regulated regime. This has been brought about by the enactment and implementation of the Forest Resources Act and the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act.
The new Forest Resources Act is of particular interest to our members and we expected to deal with the unintended consequences that result from legislative changes of this type. The difficulties are not the fault of the FMB or its staff. To their credit they have been working hard to overcome these problems and have engaged with our association on several occasions to develop solutions to problems. We are currently working with FMB on a committee looking at unintended barriers to forest industry diversification and growth. Once this work is completed, a set of recommendations will be made to the minister of Energy Mines and Resources that will lead to streamlining of legislated processes.
The advertorial published in this paper represents one individual’s opinion and we do not support that opinion. We want the public to know that the wood-cutting industry is comprised of hardworking individuals and companies that operate within the rules.
The YWPA invites everyone who reads this letter to visit our website and take a look at our vision statement and operating principles.
Ron Johnson, President
Yukon Wood Products Association